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There’s no official announcement yet, but it’s out there — including a welcome from former teammate/new teammate Kerry Rhodes — that Jay Feely has agreed to terms with the Cardinals, meaning Neil Rackers will not return after seven seasons in Arizona. I’d expect this to be formally announced soon. I know the Cards were talking to both guys during free agency. It was certainly and up and down time for Rackers in Arizona, but it was mostly up. I loved his energy, personally. But now the Cards have Feely, who nailed 30 of 36 field goals a year ago.

Feely’s clutch, id rather have Feely kicking in a game winning situation over Rackers, but id rather ahve Rackers on kick-offs, whatever Feely did amazing in the playoffs from what i saw so, should be good. Feely/Rackers they both can kick on-side kicks extemely well.

When we first lost all those players early on, I was freakin’ out. Now, the way things are shaping up the only position of immediate concern too me is wr. Replacing Boldin. I love Doucet and Breaston don’t get me wrong, but Boldin was special. I agree with you that Feeley will be a traditional kicker. I think all the way around however. The Cards really have slowly but SURELY stepped up and replaced key individuals with quality players.I LOVE the Rhodes trade especially. A-dub should be excited. Anyway, welcome Jay Feely!

Don’t like this move. Rackers was accurate – 82%. The edge with Rackers is he would put a body on somebody in kickoff coverage unlike the whiffs I watch week after week from other kickers. The only time Neil missed kicks was when he was hurt. Oh well. Feely is accurate enough Az just lost some physicality on special teams, and PB special teamer Sean Morey is gone as well.

Well Ian,I was just reading about the Feely signing on an other board and some of the Jets fans are not happy.One of them said that Feely was 83% accurate on field goals and that he was really reliable.I also read(somewhere) that he was good at onside kicks.I will miss Rackers a little too,but it sounds like the Cards upgraded at the position with this signing.

WOW! the cardinals have no heart. rackers, dansby, who next wilson?? come on. these are guys that have been here sicne the beggining……you have to hold on to them….especially rackers….the hardest working kicker in the NFL.

Come on Dustin, wake up and smell the NFL free agency coffee brewing over the past 2 decades. The time of holding onto player for their entire career still happens, but very rarely. Ask Joe Montana , Jerry Rice, and Emmit Smith about that one. Dansby was too expensive and we have Cody Brown coming back as well as picked up Porter (Not to mention the upcoming draft). Rackers worked hard and was fun to watch, but he was never clutch besides one year when the cardinals were out of the playoffs by week 10. It’s a lot easier to pick out games he missed an easy go ahead FG late. I have a hard time thinking of even one last second 4th qtr or OT game were he nailed the game winner. That is why they released him in my opinion. Not because he’s not a great guy, just not a clutch kicker.

the hardest part of being a GM is keeping fresh new blood and keeping the fans happen. any one person gets complaicent at a job after 7 years. Feely will feel he has something to prove and will be more focused given he has to learn a new team. Rackers was good, but, I want a kicker who is gonna protect his asset rather than run after a tackle that our special teamers should be gettting. Remember, special teams is about training and molding new young players, not building a team of special teams players.

I will miss al those guys who got us this far, i will love them forever. Every cardinal lost is another one gained, but the memory of the old, still remains. goodbye ex CARDINALS!!!

Neil Rackers is a really great guy. But, FYI- kickers are not supposed to go flying down the field like Rackers did, they are supposed to be the last line of defense on a kickoff. I hated seeing him do that crap, its bad fundamental football, I garuntee the actual football players on kickoff did too. He’s not a football player, hes a kicker, he only gets in real players way. And he was never clutch, seen him miss way to many big kicks. Good Luck though Neil.

Whitlock-
My understanding cardinals matched the offer the Dolphins put on Dansby and he rejected it same with rolle. So who doesn’t have a heart? Dansby just wanted a payday. I think the cardinals are showing they are willing pay for players and keep them if offers are reasonable. You can’t just pay every player what they want. I hope they can figure something out with Nine-o my favority cardinal along with Breaston!

Rackers ws fun to watch at times, but he missed too many game tying/ winners of the past 4 years. Glad to see they were moving on and i hope Feely can get the job done. Good move cards and best of luck in the future Rackers

Rob: with J Peezy added, the Dansby hole may not be as great. Especially if Lott gets him to 240 as promised and he flys around the edge.

Also, we got 2 used to be rookie OLBs who will now be 2nd year players and should show lots of improvement. So, other positions wil take up any slack. And we have Paris and Beisel….waiting for the draft to pass judgment, but the Cards know what they must do…I expect a DRC like pick at LB who will take over from Paris mid=season when he earns it.

Hmmmmmm? Im starting to think Alex u is actually Rod Graves. How else do you explain a person who can break down 7 rnds of draft picks (see mock drafts) and can vouch for an AFC East’s kickers onside kick ability. I dont know just throwing it out there. Anyone else with me? Hahaha! Keep up the hard work Rod, err, I mean Alex u.

unless neil wanted a ton more cash and/or the groin injury was going to hamper him i think he should have been brought him back. feely is a good kicker he just doesn’t have the all that neil has at least not from what i’ve witnessed.

will the end of Neil Rackers mean the end of special team trick plays as well ? lets hope not. as long as we keep graham (he’s great) under contract i see no real difference in punt play. Rackers accuracy was dwindling a little (prob Becase of injury). Hopefully Feeley can place the trick kick offs the way Rackers did.

It sure is going to be weird without: Warner, Dansby, Rolle, Boldin, Berry and Rackers. Not to mention other guys like Gandy, Okeafor. It feels like a college football team where you are losing all these guys to graduation.

Guys,
Porter, Brown and Davis do nothing for Dansby’s old spot. If we sign and draft 20 OLB’s , there is still a hole.
Dansby was an inside linebacker! Lenen and beisel, (who are special teamers and backups) are the replacements for Dansby. So, there is still a big hole. This area must be addressed in the draft.

I liked Rackers and would have liked to see him back.He is the first kicker I ever liked. But as some of you pointed out, I can remember several kicks at the end of games he missed.

I want to state… there is no WR in this draft that Plays with the intensity, heart, and drive like boldin. no other WR ( sorry fitz ) is willing to put his body into harms way in order to perfom. Fitzgerald and Moss and carter do it well, in the air, but bolding did it very physically and tested his contesters for the ball on the ground, something you will never see a brandon marshall do ( without craying after he getstapped by players doing theyre job; you thing boldin would have cryed after that…no he would wait for the same play and charge after lewis and the ball ). boldin is a One Of a Kind WR, and it may not be for a few more years untill we see that kind of true physical offensive WR.

Darren,
Have you ever talked to Whiz about who his biggest coaching influence is? We assume its “the Chin” in Pittsburgh, but what about Gibbs?

I say this because I have been saying we ned a FB also, but if I’m not mistaken. Didnt Gibbs use a TE and H-back to lead the way for Riggins? (of course H-Back was what Whiz played when he was there)
I could see 2 wide with a TE Becht and Patrick at H-back and no FB.
I know they ran that set at times last year, but it could free up a roster spot with no FB and at goaline use Dockett to lead the way again.

My wife and I loved Neil Rackers. He has been part of the identity of the resurgent Cardinals, plus we will miss his touchdown saving tackles on special teams. We are very sorry the Cardinals made this move, and we wish Neil the very best.

Ian Mofo:” The only time Neil missed kicks was when he was hurt”. I guess he was hurt in the Monday night Bears game, or the KC game the week before. Or the next year in the Washington game or the SF game where he missed one under 30 yards, or the Green Bay game this year??? I can remember only ONE important kick Rackers ever made in the clutch(Seattle). Yes he was great at onsides kicks, but name me ONE game that his on-sides kick WON, in comparison to the 5 le lost us. As far as tackling on kick-offs, that is great, but one reason he always HAD to tackle is his kickoff were too low and always allowed a return.
Sergio, Nugent was “perfect”? Well yeah I guess in the 2 kicks he tried, of course he was only 2 of six the rest of last year. I will go with Whiz here, obviously Nugent never impressed him

sorry to see rackers go because he’s been here awhile and he played with enthusiasm. still, from what i saw from feely last year, filling in as a punter, he is obviously a player too so that’s a good thing. i’m just glad that good players like feely now want to be an arizona cardinal. last thought. get rackers to gain 40 pounds and bring him back as our fullback. just kidding but it would be fun to watch. good luck neil. you will find a home somewhere, maybe dallas?

To everyone that is saying that this is a bad move, you’re wrong. I completely understand why you guys like Rackers, I mean as many of you have said he has a big heart and isn’t afraid of getting in the trenches. However, the 2 things you want from your kicker is to make FGs especially in the clutch and stay healthy, so he can do that for you all year. When a kicker is flying down the field trying to make a hit, though it’s fun to watch, it’s not very smart.

Bring back Al Del Greko or Greg Davis, changing kickers is far from tragic in the NFL. I still see the Cardinals moving forward, and going into complete rebuilding mode. Seattle is improved but I still think the Cards are the class of the division.

Bring back Al Del Greko or Greg Davis, changing kickers is far from tragic in the NFL. I still see the Cardinals moving forward, and NOT going into complete rebuilding mode. Seattle is improved but I still think the Cards are the class of the division.

Hey just remember that the cardinals didnt get rid of Rackers in a sense he got rid of his self and what I mean is that the cards offered him money to stay and he didnt like the offer so he chose to leave or the cards couldnt wait for him to make up his mind . Darren ,can a team have 2 kickers . One for kick offs and one just for field goals .

It is not glamorous but i think if a decent NT is availabe, the cards will take him in the first round. Will Cody play ILB or OLB and how is the rehab going, dislocated wrist can’t be a good prognosis.

Rackers was more than likely passed over for Feely because of one thing- he wanted more that what the Cards thought he was worth.
Feely had better continue with his career FG average ’cause this year’s team isn’t going to be throwing any 40yd+ bombs and the running game can’t score everytime in the redzone.
And with Whiz semi-known as a “gadget-type coach” Jay better have a few tricks down his pantleg.

Darren can you please give a ballpark figure of where AZ Cardinals are cap wise after excluding the rookie pool. This info would give us fans an opportunity to play GM in our minds. Also any thoughts on who we might want to sign from the free ageny field if the price waas right? And your timely responce to everyone’s questions is impressive. Good job brother!

To all of the Rackers fans out there, this is not a bad move. He is a headcase and an injury waiting to happen. Feely doesn’t have the same distance, but Rackers always choked on pressur kicks. So long Neil.

I’ll always have a spot in my heart for Rackers ’cause there weren’t many like him! For a kicker, he was a pretty tough guy and he wasn’t afraid to throw his body around on kick-offs. But…from an accuracy standpoint, it’s hard to complain about what is probably an up-grade in Feely. Our worst nightmare now, however, will be Rackers going to San Fran and winning the game that will give the 49ers the division with a last second FG from 45-plus…he’ll finally make “THE” clutch kick he could never make as a Cardinal and it will be a Cardinal killer! How crazy would that be???

I am surprised that nobody commented about how often, when it seemed the worst possible time, that Rackers would kick it off out of bounds and the opponent would get the ball at the 40. As much as I liked Rackers, mentally, he wasn’t at his best when he was needed the most. You could usually see in his eyes when he was about to take a clutch kick (even if under 30 yards) that he was even more nervous about the kick than I was.